Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

First Edition: April 27, 2015

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.

Kaiser Health News:
Hospitals Increasingly Turn To Patients For Advice
Jane Maier was one of a select group of patients invited in early 2012 to help Partners HealthCare, Massachusetts’ largest health system, pick its new electronic health record system – a critical investment of close to $700 million. The system, which is now being phased in, will help coordinate services and reshape how patients and doctors find and read medical information. The fact that Partners sought the perspective of patients highlights how hospitals increasingly care about what their customers think. ... Patient advisory councils, like the one Maier belongs to, often serve as sounding boards for hospital leaders – offering advice on a range of issues. Members are usually patients and relatives who had bad hospital experiences and want to change how things work, or who liked their stay and want to remain involved. (Luthra, 4/27)

Politico:
Conservatives Fear GOP Leaders Giving Up On Obamacare Repeal
Many House conservatives backed the budget last month and spared GOP leaders another showdown with their right flank for one big reason: They were under the impression the spending blueprint would help them — finally — get an Obamacare repeal to the president’s desk. Now they’re concerned that Speaker John Boehner and company have other plans. (Bade, 4/27)

The Associated Press:
Obama Uses Hospital Funds To Push Medicaid Expansion
The Obama administration is dialing up the pressure on a handful of states that have resisted expanding Medicaid coverage for their low-income residents under the federal health care overhaul. The leverage comes from a little-known federal fund that helps states and hospitals recoup some of the cost of caring for uninsured patients. The administration says states can just expand Medicaid, as the health care law provides, and then they wouldn't need as much extra help with costs for the uninsured. (Kennedy, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Medicare-Provider Penalties, Incentives Detailed In Report
Nearly 40% of health-care providers treating Medicare patients will have their payments docked 1.5% this year because they didn’t submit data on patients’ health to the government, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said. More than 460,000 providers failed to comply with the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2013, of about 1.25 million eligible providers, according to the CMS report released last week. Some 70% of those that didn’t participate treat fewer than 100 Medicare patients a year, the agency said. (Beck, 4/26)

Los Angeles Times:
Signing Up Late For Medicare Part B Can Trigger A Lifelong Penalty
If Robert Bowman hadn't casually mentioned his upcoming 65th birthday to a friend, he might have missed his window to sign up for Medicare. "He said you better sign up now because there's a penalty for signing up late. I didn't know that," says Bowman, a 65-year-old former tow truck driver who lives in Torrance. Everyday 10,000 baby boomers — people age 51 to 69 — turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. According to a recent survey by the Medicare Rights Center in New York, many are unclear about whether and when to sign up for Part B, which covers outpatient medical care, including most doctor visits. (Zamosky, 4/26)

Politico:
Defense, Appropriators Win In Budget Deal
Sources said the budget would focus on repealing Obamacare through the fast-track budgeting procedure known as reconciliation, which allows the bill to clear the Senate with just 51 votes. But it was unclear if it would specifically require only a repeal of the president’s signature health care law. House negotiators were pushing to keep their options open when it comes to how Republicans will use reconciliation. (Bade, 4/24)

Reuters:
Republicans Seen Scrapping Ryan Medicare Plan In U.S. Budget Push
Aiming to acquire more budget powers and take a swipe at Obamacare, Republicans will likely scrap a proposal that stirred controversy and helped launch Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan on the national stage: privatizing the Medicare health program. Ryan's bold Medicare "premium support" plan would be sacrificed to ensure passage of Congress' first full budget in six years and allow Republicans a rare opportunity to use a powerful procedural tool to ease passage of other legislation. (Lawder, 4/24)

The New York Times:
Michael Botticelli Is A Drug Czar Who Knows Addiction Firsthand
Six recovering substance abusers sat in an inner-city treatment center, sharing their stories. When Michael’s turn came around, he spoke of his former drug of choice, alcohol, and mentioned the night years ago when he drove drunk on the Massachusetts Turnpike, caused an accident and was arrested before passing out. ... “You are my people,” he said, wiping one eye. Catharsis is common in treatment centers, but Michael is not the typical former substance abuser: He is Michael Botticelli, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, informally known as the drug czar. Mr. Botticelli is the first person in substance-abuse recovery to hold the position. (Schwartz, 4/25)

The Wall Street Journal:
Pharmaceutical Companies Buy Rivals’ Drugs, Then Jack Up The Prices
On Feb. 10, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. bought the rights to a pair of life-saving heart drugs. The same day, their list prices rose by 525% and 212%. Neither of the drugs, Nitropress or Isuprel, was improved as a result of costly investment in lab work and human testing, Valeant said. Nor was manufacture of the medicines shifted to an expensive new plant. The big change: the drugs’ ownership. (Rockoff and Silverman, 4/26)

NPR:
As Health Apps Hop On The Apple Watch, Privacy Will Be Key
One day soon, you may be waiting in line for a coffee, eyeing a pastry, when your smart watch buzzes with a warning. Flashing on the tiny screen of your Apple Watch is a message from an app called Lark, suggesting that you lay off the carbs for today. Speak into the Apple Watch's built-in mic about your food, sleep and exercise, and the app will send helpful tips back to you. (Farr, 4/25)

The Wall Street Journal:
Pennsylvania Home Health Care Aides Vote To Unionize
A union claimed victory Friday in its effort to organize 20,000 home health aides in Pennsylvania, even as two pending lawsuits seeking to block the union drive may not be resolved for months. Home health aides voted 2,663 to 309 in favor of being represented by the United Home Care Workers of Pennsylvania, according to the union, which is a joint partnership of the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. (Maher, 4/24)

The Wall Street Journal:
Federal Officials Issue Alert On Indiana HIV Outbreak
The number of cases of HIV tied to injection drug use in a rural Indiana county has continued to climb, and federal officials on Friday alerted health departments, hospitals and doctors across the country to be on the lookout for similar outbreaks in their communities. “Urgent action is needed” to prevent further HIV and hepatitis C transmission in Indiana and to control any similar occurrences elsewhere, according to a health advisory issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Campo-Flores, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times:
In Suit, Blue Shield Cites Extravagant Spending By Fired Executive
Blue Shield of California fired a top executive last month after he spent more than $100,000 on his corporate credit card, the company says, including on trips with girlfriend and "Sharknado" actress Tara Reid. The details surfaced in a countersuit the health insurance giant filed Tuesday alleging fraud by Aaron Kaufman, the company's former chief technology officer. (Terhune, 4/24)

The Washington Post:
Maryland Bill Would Require Extra Training For School Counselors
When Lauryn Santiago’s grades started to slip two years ago, her mother, Linda Diaz, suspected something was wrong. Diaz called her daughter’s high school and asked the counselor to meet with Lauryn. But the meeting never happened. A month later, Diaz found her 15-year-old daughter hanging from the banister of their home. Lauryn, a freshman at Laurel High School in Prince George’s County, had taken her own life. (Wiggins, 4/26)

Los Angeles Times:
Health Plan Adds Option Of Payment In Cash At Local Stores
With Obamacare in its second year, health officials are still working out the kinks in expanding health coverage to millions of Californians. In the latest fix, members of a health plan for low-income Los Angeles County residents now can pay their premiums with cash at neighborhood stores, a more convenient option for some people without bank accounts. (Karlamangla, 4/24)

The Washington Post:
How Barbers Are Saving People From Colon Cancer
There are 26 barbers and stylists at The Shop in Hyattsville, Md. Between them, they cut the hair of more than 100 people each day. That’s around 600 people each week, 31,000 heads each year. Over the last two years, 29 of those customers received a colonoscopy as a direct result of conversations they had with their barbers at The Shop. One of those people, says owner Fredie Spry, was already showing symptoms of colon cancer and is now getting treated. Many more of Spry’s African-American clients learned that the cancer is one of the few that are preventable and — given blacks’ higher-than-average risk for the disease — they should consider getting a first colonoscopy at 45. (Stein, 4/24)

The Associated Press:
Iowa Law Tries To Ensure Adult Children Can See Sick Parents
A year after the children of radio personality Casey Kasem had to seek court action to see their ailing father, a new law in Iowa aims to ensure that adult children can see their sick parents — granting them visitation rights unless the person's guardian goes to court to stop them. Gov. Terry Branstad signed the bill into law Friday. (Lucey, 4/24)

The Washington Post's Wonkblog:
Why Pregnant Women In Mississippi Keep Dying
There's a quiet medical crisis going on in this country: the number of women dying in childbirth. The United States is the only advanced economy in the world with a rising maternal mortality rate. Deaths related to childbirth in the United States are nearing the highest rate in a quarter-century. An estimated 18.5 mothers died for every 100,000 births in 2013, compared with 7.2 per 100,000 in 1987. This means a woman giving birth here is twice as likely to die than in Saudi Arabia and three times as likely than in the United Kingdom. (Paquette, 4/24)

Los Angeles Times:
Pomona Valley Hospital Chosen As L.A. County's Newest Trauma Center
Hoping to finally close a significant gap in the region’s emergency medical network, Los Angeles County officials are proposing a new trauma center to serve residents of Pomona and the eastern San Gabriel Valley. Officials have been trying for years to put a trauma center in the area, saying patients now travel too far to receive care for the most critical injuries. The nearest trauma center to Pomona is 28 miles away, at County-USC Medical Center in Boyle Heights. (Karlamangla, 4/26)

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